Cultural diversity
Ancestry
About this topic
Ancestry describes a person's cultural association and ethnic background, and Census respondents can report more than one ancestry. It is a broader cultural measure than country of birth because it can reflect family heritage across generations.
This topic helps show the size and diversity of cultural groups in an area, including groups whose members were born in Australia. Because multiple ancestries can be reported, ancestry totals can exceed the total population, so it is best read with birthplace, language used at home, and religion.
Interpretation notes
- People can report up to two ancestries, so category totals represent responses rather than a single unduplicated person count.
- ABS advises that ancestry is best used with birthplace and language, because ancestry alone is a broad measure of ethnicity and cultural background.
- The 2021 form added separate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mark boxes, so those categories need caution in over-time comparison.
Key insight
In 2021, the largest ancestry groups among residents in Ocean Shores were English, Australian and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Ocean Shores - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Ocean Shores in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Byron (A) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Ocean Shores, with comparison markers for Byron (A).
English
2021 count
2,349
% of total
20.4%
Change from 2016
+6.1pp
2,349
20.4%
+6.1pp
Australian
2021 count
1,861
% of total
16.1%
Change from 2016
-0.5pp
1,861
16.1%
-0.5pp
Irish
2021 count
904
% of total
7.8%
Change from 2016
+2.0pp
904
7.8%
+2.0pp
Scottish
2021 count
694
% of total
6.0%
Change from 2016
+2.1pp
694
6.0%
+2.1pp
German
2021 count
349
% of total
3.0%
Change from 2016
+2.1pp
349
3.0%
+2.1pp
Italian
2021 count
237
% of total
2.1%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
237
2.1%
+0.2pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
145
% of total
1.3%
Change from 2016
-
145
1.3%
-
Dutch
2021 count
125
% of total
1.1%
Change from 2016
+0.6pp
125
1.1%
+0.6pp
French
2021 count
88
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
+0.6pp
88
0.8%
+0.6pp
Polish
2021 count
65
% of total
0.6%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
65
0.6%
+0.4pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
English
+1,454
+6.1pp
Australian
+822
-0.5pp
Irish
+543
+2.0pp
Scottish
+449
+2.1pp
German
+291
+2.1pp
Italian
+119
+0.2pp
Dutch
+93
+0.6pp
French
+76
+0.6pp
Polish
+53
+0.4pp
Russian
+33
+0.1pp
Data table
Ancestry for Ocean Shores. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Byron (A).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Byron (A)% | Count | % | Byron (A)% | Count | pp | |
| English | 2,349 | 20.4% | 20.2% | 895 | 14.3% | 19.6% | +1,454 | +6.1pp |
| Australian | 1,861 | 16.1% | 15.0% | 1,039 | 16.6% | 17.0% | +822 | -0.5pp |
| Irish | 904 | 7.8% | 7.6% | 361 | 5.8% | 7.4% | +543 | +2.0pp |
| Scottish | 694 | 6.0% | 6.0% | 245 | 3.9% | 5.6% | +449 | +2.1pp |
| German | 349 | 3.0% | 3.1% | 58 | 0.9% | 2.7% | +291 | +2.1pp |
| Italian | 237 | 2.1% | 2.1% | 118 | 1.9% | 1.4% | +119 | +0.2pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 145 | 1.3% | 0.9% | - | - | 0.1% | - | - |
| Dutch | 125 | 1.1% | 1.0% | 32 | 0.5% | 0.9% | +93 | +0.6pp |
| French | 88 | 0.8% | 1.0% | 12 | 0.2% | 0.7% | +76 | +0.6pp |
| Polish | 65 | 0.6% | 0.5% | 12 | 0.2% | 0.4% | +53 | +0.4pp |
| Total | 11,542 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 6,264 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +5,278 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).